


Scott, Meet Jaal

by Faylinn_Night



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherly Affection, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, Other, Sibling Bonding, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 05:39:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faylinn_Night/pseuds/Faylinn_Night
Summary: Riti rolled her eyes, imagining her lover, yet grinned.  “Mushy time is over, Big Boy,” she told her brother.  “Jaal’s waiting.”Scott mirrored his twin’s smile.  “Lead the way, Princess.”“Don’t call me that.”“Alright.  But I can’t guarantee no other nicknames will escape me.”A threat?  Two could play at that game.  Ritika passed her brother, chin raised.  Yeah, he knew she could embarrass him as easily as he could embarrass her.  It would only be a matter of who could stand their ground the longest.Lord help Jaal and his family…-------------------My take on Scott meeting Jaal and his kin "properly". Comes in two parts. Or maybe three. IDK yet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I admit, the lacking sibling interactions in ME:A left me sad. So here I am, fixing that. :D

If anything, at least Scott’s giant, blonde afro was easy to spot in a crowd—even among other humans.  Ritika kept a close eye on it, following the Hyperion’s busy hallways.

“So, Scotty,” she said.

“Don’t call me that,” Scott interjected.

Riti smirked at her twin and how his grate-patterned scar crinkled with his nose.  “You read everything, right?  All the docs?”

“Like I was given much choice to do anything else after you and Harry hunted me down.”

“Serves you right for ditching us.”

“I was in a coma for over a year.  One would think you could cut me a little slack for playin’ hooky.”

The Pathfinder snorted, shoving her body weight into Scott as a not-so-subtle cue to turn a corner.  “You disappeared the moment Kesh, Tann, and the others bombarded me outside Dad’s room.  Bet you were just faking being tired, weren’t you?”

Scott shrugged, although the glint behind his yellow-orange eyes made Ritika frown.

“I was worried, ya know?” she asked.  “After all you went through…”

“So worried that you felt a need to bury me under mounds of Angaran homework?”

“If I had to read over five thousand pages of laws, so do you.”

“Thanks for sharing the misery, Sis.”

“It’s important.”

“Yeah, yeah.”  Scott waved a hand, dark features scrunched.  “New galaxy.  New rules.  New assholes.  I’ve seen it all, remember?”

“Not nearly as close as I’ve seen it.”

“Seriously?”

Scott stopped short.  Ritika almost tripped over his out-turned foot and swung sideways when he pulled her into a private room by the bicep.  Once steady again, the Pathfinder stared up at her twin, her lips taunt.

“What’s happened to you?” asked Scott.  He looked pissed, but his tone wavered like he was hurt or scared.  “Since when do you care if I’ve read a manual or pamphlet?  We _never_ read that shit.”

“Scott—“

“And this coming from Miss ‘Jump First, Ask Questions Later’?  Even that scar on your face couldn’t scare you onto the straight line Dad wanted us to walk.”

“Yeah, well.”  Ritika shifted, arms pressed against her abdomen in hopes it would help her stomachache.  “I’ve come a long way from being a Peacekeeper.”

“You sound like Mom.  Which isn’t a bad thing.  It’s just…not you.  What’s going on?”

Riti sighed.  SAM wanted to intervene; she could feel him speaking in her subconscious yet she refused to listen.  This was her issue, her brother, her future.  And she wanted to tell Scott the news in her way.  Hopefully, SAM would understand.

“This isn’t about political correctness, is it, Riti?”

Inhaling, Ritika met Scott’s bright eyes.  “No,” she said.

“It’s personal.”

“Yup.”

“Like Jaal personal?”

All blood drained from Riti’s face.  “The others tell you?”

“No.  But I’m not stupid.  Or deaf.  He calls you ‘Darling One.’”

“Dammit, Jaal,” Riti grumbled.  “You and your loud mouth.”

‘ _According to Jaal, you can be just as loud, Pathfinder._ ’

“Ugh.  Terrible timing for a weak joke, SAM.”

‘ _Forgive me, Ritika.  I was merely trying to relieve tension.  Your heart rate is…alarming._ ’

“I’m just nervous.  I’ll be okay.”

“So, you and Jaal really are…?”  Scott trailed off with a quirked eyebrow.  He wanted to tease his sister; Riti could sense him fight a snigger.  But her half-nod-half-shrug kept him humble.  “Alright.  What’s the big deal then?  This isn’t the first interspecies relationship we’ve heard of.  If you dig some purple cat-squid guy, uh”—Scott raised two thumbs—“more power to ya?”

“Family means a lot to the Angara.”

“So I’ve read.”

“Like, a lot, Idiot.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re about to pull a ‘Mom’?”

“Don’t be an ass.”

“Yup.  There it is.  Mom instructions.”

“Scott!“

“Will you calm down?”  Scott laughed, combing his blonde afro before placing both hands on his twin’s shoulders.  “Angara like honesty, right?  I should be fine.”

“I really want this to work out,” Ritika all but whispered.  “I love Jaal, more than I ever thought I could love a guy after…”  She swallowed.  “Until Mom wakes up, it’s you and me.  With Jaal.  And his brothers, and sisters, and cousins, and mothers.”

“So the size of their families hadn’t been exaggerated.”

“Nope.  They all live together.  Closely.  Like sardines in a can.”

“Using gross twentieth-century idioms now?”

“Whatever.  Point is: I want, well…”

“Well, what?”

Riti looked up when her brother touched her scarred cheek.  “Support, Scott.  I know how jarring everything has been lately.  You wake up, Dad’s dead, we’re in a war, and your big sis—“

“Slightly big sis.”

“ _One minute older_ big sis has adopted a team, another family.  I want you to be part of that.  No, I want you to _want_ to be a part of that.”

“Riti, I ain’t jealous if that’s what you're hinting at.  I don’t resent you for being the new Pathfinder.  Hell, I pity you.  The job is stressful as fuck.”

Ritika snorted then giggled, the pit in her stomach easing as Scott drew her in for a hug.

“I’m happy for you, Sis,” he said gently.  “I mean it.  You’ve found yourself here, and if Jaal and his huge ass family are part of your new life, I’ll help you deal with them.”

“Deal?”

“Like extra siblings won’t drive you batty.”

“I’m more worried about you driving them batty.”

“That why you insisted on so much homework?”

Ritika wrapped her arms around Scott and buried her face into his chest.

‘ _Pathfinder?_ ’                                                                              

“Yes, SAM?”

 _‘I know you wish to be alone with Scott, but security shows Jaal at the Hyperion’s front entrance.  Judging by facial cues and occasional pacing, I deduce your tardiness is worrying him._ ’

Riti rolled her eyes, imagining her lover, yet grinned.  “Mushy time is over, Big Boy,” she told her brother.  “Jaal’s waiting.”

Scott mirrored his twin’s smile.  “Lead the way, Princess.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Alright.  But I can’t guarantee no other nicknames will escape me.”

A threat?  Two could play at that game.  Ritika passed her brother, chin raised.  Yeah, he knew she could embarrass him as easily as he could embarrass her.  It would only be a matter of who could stand their ground the longest.

Lord help Jaal and his family…


End file.
